Tom Waters

Fireworks, parades, family, and barbecues (BBQ here in the South). These are staples of the July 4th holiday. As Americans are celebrating a major historical event, I'm compelled to consider the importance of education...especially the teaching of social studies in Elementary and Middle School years. Unfortunately, we are losing social studies due to the pressures of high stakes standardized testing. Social Studies is the study of life. It is the study of how humans adapt and modify life on Earth. How cultures, governments, and communities shape life and thought. July 4th is commemoration of the Declaration of Independence. This historical document expressed and codified ideas that helped revolutionize how we think about life, liberty, and government. The signors of this document were expressing support for ideas that were evolving for many years from many cultures. The ideas have been tossed around and revised for millennia from Cleisthenes and Plato to John Locke, Thomas ...

As educators, we want to inspire. Too often we're trapped by various pressures. We feel like we can't touch sensitive ethical issues. We feel like there's no time to go deep into real topics that impact students' thinking. A couple of days ago I wrote about getting deep into social studies lessons . Then I read a blog about a related topic on edweek.org . Zoe Weil made several great points along the same lines as my recent post: It is a school's job to protect students' physical, mental, and emotional safety. That safety comes when children learn to have agency; to contribute meaningfully in the world; and to cultivate qualities such as integrity, compassion, and kindness. Our education system must present ethical concerns through school curricula, empowering teachers and students to think about these issues in different ways. We must help students become adept researchers able to examine the complex systems that impact all of our lives. We must ensure, thr...

I'm working on a new series of products for elementary Social Studies. With excitement, but also with hesitation. The excitement because the unit is called "Heroes and Change" for 3rd-5th grade students. It's been really fun trying to find just the right questions and just the right information to present these incredible biographies: Rosa Parks, Louis Pasteur, Todd Beamer, and Bill Gates. These historical and contemporary figures each are special in their own ways. And each have truly impacted our culture and the way we live. However... ...The hesitation. The concern that no one will use these products. When talking to colleagues, you and I have heard it, probably thought it once or twice. Concerns. The reasons why we can't go into depth in social studies, or the reasons why we have to make it "cutesy" and avoid tough topics. "Parents don't want their kids learning about civil rights, civil disobedience, or change...it's too touchy....